The Cobra Chronicles
by Gold-Snitcher
Summary: (on hiatus) 6th yr. Harry faces more challenges than any year previous. He works to control his own powers and temper, teach his most trusted friends, and deal with the various demands from Albus, not the least of which is to accept Draco as a new ally.
1. A Slytherin in Our Midst

Title: The Cobra Chronicles

Author: Gold-Snitcher

Chapter Title: A Slytherin in Our Midst  
Summary: A new year at Hogwarts has Harry facing more challenges than any year previously. As he works to control his own rising powers and also to teach his most trusted friends, Harry is also forced to deal with the various demands of his headmaster, not the least of which is to accept his most bitter rival as a new ally.  
Pairings: Draco/Harry, Ron/Hermione  
Categories: Romance, Angst, Drama, Action

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Remus Lupin smiled faintly at the man in front of him. He watched as long fingers hooked around a teapot and carefully poured a cup. He smiled back at the twinkling eyes and tried to pretend he was more confident than he felt. "If you trust him, Albus, then I'll do it."

Albus Dumbledore smiled and nodded. "It is important. I have been thinking for a great while about the words of the Sorting Hat, just last year, and find that a similar warning at the beginning of this term means it cannot go unaddressed. This is a start. And I do trust him. But beyond this I cannot see who to trust."

Lupin sighed. "Okay. Do you want me to tell Harry in our next meeting?"

Albus shook his head. "I think the DA should be introduced to its newest member in the next meeting. It would not do to have Harry learn along with the others. He needs to be prepared. He needs to understand. And as their leader, he deserves notification of the changes we make." Lupin sighed and nodded. Dumbledore chuckled and watched as man across from him sipped his tea nervously. "I think it would be better if I were the one to tell him."

Lupin sighed in relief and then caught himself. "If you think so."

Dumbledore chuckled. "Now. How would you like a gumdrop?"

....................

Many things had changed at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry within the span of a single year.

Hogsmeade had been garrisoned with fifteen well-trained reliable Aurors; but the students of Hogwarts were not aware of that.

Extra security had been placed around the school grounds itself; but the students were not aware of that.

A small group met weekly to train and practice spells under the leadership of one, Harry James Potter, but the students, except the ones directly involved, were not aware of that.

Of all the changes that had happened in and around the school, there was only one that the students were really painfully aware of, and that was the change within Harry Potter himself.

Quiet, dark moments that left his closest friends worrying about him; an intimidating conviction and defiance of many; a sometimes bitter and usually painfully accurate understanding of his role in the wizarding world. All this was small and subtle when compared to the biggest and most blatant change of all.

His temper.

"WHAT?!" Dumbledore sipped his tea calmly and watched the boy pace. "You can't be serious, professor! I mean. It's not right! He's lying! It's obvious that he's lying!" He muttered a few choice curses and Dumbledore put his tea down, sighing softly and smiling at the boy who he had become so fond of.

"Harry. Please sit. Have a lemon drop."

The boy scowled but snatched the lemon drop, popping it in his mouth with another snarl and scowling darkly at the man before him, the man who was both father and grandfather, advisor, headmaster, guide, friend and ally.

"I understand your feelings about this." A derisive snort, and Dumbledore smiled to himself. "I do understand your feelings, Harry. But you must also look at this logically. You and I both heard the Sorting Hat this year. And I know you recall a similar warning just last year. You are as familiar as I am with the plans of Voldemort at this moment in time. If he is working ceaselessly to build his army of Death Eaters, we must work just as hard to make certain of our allies."

"Professor. I understand this but ... but you can't be serious! I mean, he could never..."

"He has offered us irrefutable proof, Harry. I find myself confronted with a most impossible task: uniting a world that is divided. But I think it is always better to start small, so I believe that it is better to unite a school than the world."

"And it's better to unite the DA than the school. But Slytherins are notorious for..."

"Harry. You must try. It is most essential that this work, if not throughout the school, at least in your group. I am entrusting you with a very great task. Not only in choosing the people you lead, but also in leading them. Will you do this?"

Harry sighed. "I always do."

...............

Harry looked at his schedule and let out a long-suffering sigh.

"What?" Ron asked, and in answer, Harry thrust the schedule to him. "Bloody hell," his friend muttered, and Harry felt vaguely satisfied that there was someone else who agreed with him. "I mean..." Ron tried to look encouraging but it lasted only a second before his face fell and he handed the schedule back to Harry. "Bloody hell."

"Oh really. It won't be that bad," Hermione said, munching on a bran muffin and smiled in a way that she thought calmed people. Harry didn't have the heart to tell her that it never really worked on him. It was a nice thought though.

"I mean," Hermione continued, "I'll help you. In every way I can. And I'm sure the teachers will be easier on you. They must know." Harry wasn't so convinced. He couldn't imagine Dumbledore assigning him all sorts of extra classes to develop secret abilities only to announce it to the faculty. It would defeat the purpose.

"Thanks, Hermione," he said, and tried to look convincing in return. "Well, at least it's Friday." His extra classes would be starting on Monday, and they would be starting at full-force. Between normal classes, Quidditch and this extra training Dumbledore had prepared for him, not to mention the DA, Harry wasn't sure if he would ever have time to breathe.

"Aren't you forgetting, Harry? The DA is having a meeting tonight." Harry sighed and put his head in his hands. He was the only one who knew why Lupin, the authority figurehead attached to his little band that had been sanctioned by Dumbledore himself, wanted to meet with them. He did this every so often, but he had already checked-in on them. Harry couldn't bring himself to tell his friends.

"Great," he said. "Care to join me on my slow descent into hell?" he offered. "Potions to start and Divination to end, and a DA meeting to top it off. I'll go mad, I swear," he said as Ron laughed and Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Honestly, Harry. We'll work it out. It will be fine."

Harry repeated this to himself throughout the day.

It became his mantra.

He told himself that it would be fine when he added the essence of murtlap before stirring his cauldron twenty times counterclockwise. He told himself that it would be fine when Snape shot off another string of comments about his fame and his scar and how he was apparently so conceited, and then removed twenty points from Gryffindor just because it was his house.

He tried to tell himself it would be fine when he nearly choked his tri-headed wombat in Care of Magical Creatures when his thoughts had drifted to the war and to other such unpleasantries. He tried to tell himself that it would be fine when he accidentally transfigured his teakettle into a Creeping Cactus that proceeded to shoot thorns at everyone.

For a moment he believed it would be fine when one of the thorns caught Malfoy square in the nose and he suddenly felt better about life in general, but then Malfoy had thrown a fit and had skulked off to the Hospital wing with a promise of revenge, and Harry had reminded himself that it would be fine.

Harry tried to tell himself that it would be fine many times throughout the day. But he was never convinced. He didn't eat much at dinner, and declined working with Ron and Hermione in the Common Room in favor of a solitary study time in his bed, glaring at his Potions essay and trying to figure-out why he cared. He was still there, glaring at his Potions assignment when Ron came in and quirked an eyebrow at him. "Are you coming?"

"What?"

Ron shrugged. "Well, I was just wondering if Dumbledore's Army would require a leader at this very important meeting that was ordered from on high, or if we were just supposed to ... you know. Wing it?"

Harry cursed. "I forgot."

"No you didn't. You were avoiding it." That was true, but he couldn't tell Ron that. To admit it would mean that there was something particularly unpleasant about tonight's meeting, and that would beg the question: What was it?

"Come on. We're late," he muttered, adjusting his cloak and hurrying through the halls.

Dumbledore's Army had been made official, but was kept on the down low. Dumbledore had spoken with Harry over the summer about the Order as well as the DA and they had come to the conclusion that, though with the Dark Reign of Umbridge over, it was still important to maintain the DA, not just for random practical DADA knowledge, but to train a group of students to work together and to work well together. They were the leaders to the school itself, though they were the unknown and unrecognized leaders. They were the representatives, even more important, in some ways, than the prefects themselves.

"Harry, glad you could join us," Lupin said, smiling at Harry and Ron when they stumbled in. Ron took his place by Hermione, and Harry took his place opposite Lupin at the head of the table. "Now. I've called you here to discuss a very important issue. Many of you recall the warning of the Sorting Hat at the beginning of the year." There was a murmur of acknowledgment. "The task at hand is to unite."

Everyone looked around. They were an assortment of Ravenclaws, Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs, but up until now, no Slytherin had ever heard of the DA in terms of joining. No Slytherin thought the DA had outlived Umbridge, and no Slytherin didn't feel at least a hint of pride at that knowledge.

"I must tell you that things within the DA are going to change. Hopefully for the better. Tonight is the beginning of that change. I am here to introduce your latest member." Harry gritted his teeth and tried to refrain from slouching in his chair. "Draco Malfoy."

There was a collective gasp that ran through the table. Harry felt Ron and Hermione's startled gazes fix upon him, but they were soon diverted when Lupin opened a side door to the room where they were meeting and Draco Malfoy - tall, slim, grey-eyed and albino-like Draco Malfoy, walked confidently into the room.

"You can't be serious!" shouted Ron, jumping up from the table, face already going red. Hermione grabbed his arm, desperately trying to calm him down.

"He's a notorious bastard! Who's tried to hurt Harry on more than one occasion!" This was Seamus, who was also glaring.

"He's horrible!" shouted Luna Lovegood, frantically looking around her as if expecting either a revolt or to wake-up.

Harry wished he could wake-up, but he knew that wasn't an option. He gritted his teeth, listening to the squabbling of the people he had been training and working with. Listening to Lupin trying to calm them down, and hating the fact that Malfoy was seeing them like this. Seeing them startled and in uproar and disorganized. Malfoy would see it as weakness, and Dumbledore's Army was anything but weak.

"QUIET!" he shouted and stood up.

Everyone's mouth snapped shut and every head turned to face him. Even Lupin. Even Draco, who looked startled and curious. "I don't like it anymore than you do, but this wasn't my decision. This came from Dumbledore, and if Dumbledore, who we all follow, who is leading the war against Voldemort, a war which, just by being here tonight we are actively taking a part in, says that Draco Malfoy is going to join the DA, then that's what he's going to do. If you question this, you're questioning Dumbledore, and if you're questioning Dumbledore, you're questioning me, as well as your position as an opponent of Voldemort." He ignored the fact that the DA, including Lupin, still winced when he said Voldemort's name, but he noted with interest that Draco did not wince.

He left the table and stood in front of Draco, eyeing him closely. He was still seething but managed to control it. Yelling at Malfoy didn't get anywhere; if he wanted to get through to the blond he needed control. So instead, he spoke in a lethal whisper. "I know what you did and it's appreciated. I want you to know that I'm saying this not because I trust you, but because I trust Dumbledore. I want you to realize that you need to earn my trust. And you need to earn the trust of everyone in this room.

"I don't know what happened to change your mind. I don't want to. Just make sure that you don't ever change back." It was a quiet threat, and, standing this close, Harry saw the flash of respect, and determination warring with a haughty defiance and something that Harry could not put his finger on. In a moment, the eyes closed-off and Draco smirked.

"How very Slytherin of you, Potter." To Harry's surprise, Draco snaked-out a hand from his robes and quirked an eyebrow. "This is the second time I'm offering you my hand, Potter." It was a whisper, just between them, and Harry saw that Hermione and Ron were leaning forward, trying to hear.

"Only this time, Malfoy, you're pledging allegiance to me, not the other way around." Draco smirked at him and nodded, and only then did Harry take his hand.

Harry stepped back and fixed Lupin with an intense look, then he nodded and Lupin, still with a dazed look in his eye, moved back to the table. He waved a hand and a chair dropped beside Hermione, and Draco, looking hesitant, accepted it.

"Good. Now, this is not the only change. Harry?" he asked and Harry looked up from where he had been glaring at his hands.

"I'm going to need a representative from each house. Luna, Ernie, and Malfoy. I need to see you after the meeting today." He looked back at Lupin and Lupin smiled softly.

"Right. Then the only other thing I can think of to say is to keep working. The task I'm leaving you with until I see you again is to work together and to get to know everyone. Thank-you. Good-night." Everyone got up, still talking. Luna and Ernie and Draco made their way over to Harry, but Hermione and Ron got there first.

Before they could say anything Harry raised a hand to stop them and then rubbed his eyes. "I know. I'm sorry. I'm tired. I have a headache. Yell at me another time."

They stopped, looked at each other, then him, and then laughed.

"Sorry, Harry. It's just, we would have liked a warning."

"Well, nobody else got one." Ron looked affronted but Hermione caught him and glared.

"It's okay, Harry. We'll see you back in the common room." Harry nodded then turned to the three people who were waiting for him.

"In case you haven't realized it, the DA has been kept small. Most of its members were members last year. Well, things have to change. I asked you to stay because I'm going to enlarge the group, and since I don't know all the houses very well, I'll need your help." They nodded and sat down.

Harry rubbed his eyes again and sighed. "Okay, I'm asking you now, but if you are not absolutely, without a doubt certain then do not mention the name. Is that clear? If you can't think of anyone, tell me, and I'll ask you to keep an eye on your house and come back with the name of anyone you think could be possible." When they nodded again Harry whipped out his wand, muttered a spell and a piece of parchment, a quill and ink appeared before him. Ernie gaped, but Harry ignored it.

"Okay. Luna, who is possible from Ravenclaw?"

She frowned and tugged at a stray strand of hair before looking at him. "Well, I would suggest Cho, but there must be a reason why she hasn't come back this year."

Harry nodded, remembering how the girl had sobbed on him just last year, and how, at the beginning of this, his sixth year, she had sobbed again and told him that she really didn't want to think about You-Know-Who anymore. "She wanted to take a break," he muttered.

Luna nodded. "Okay, then. We already have Terry Boot, but Mandy Brocklehurst and Lisa Turpin are trustworthy." Harry nodded and wrote the names on a grid he had made. "Other than that, I can't be certain."

"That's good. We don't want too big a group. Ernie?" Ernie MacMillan sat back. He was young, but he was trustworthy, and he absolutely loved being a part of the DA.

"Uhm. Emma Dobbs, and Partick O'Connolly." Harry recorded the names. He didn't like the idea of a huge group, they were harder to keep track of, and yet the more they had, the better it was.

"Malfoy?"

Draco fixed him with an odd look. "Blaise Zabini." Harry nodded, wrote the name down and then looked back at Draco. Draco shrugged. "We're Slytherins." And Harry nodded again, rolling up the parchment.

"Thanks, that's it." They headed out the door, but just as they were leaving something occurred to Harry. "Malfoy!" Draco stopped and fixed him with a nervous stare. "Here." He flipped a galleon at him, which Draco caught with typical seeker reflexes. "Don't use it."

He left Draco staring at the coin and headed back to the Gryffindor common room. He was exhausted, and it was only going to get worse from here.

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TBC

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What do you think? Please review!! There will be Draco-Harry SLASH so please if you don't like it, go away, cause it's inevitable!

Let me know if I should continue this fic!

Thanks to everyone who sent me a review so far! It made my day!

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Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.


	2. Dumbledore's Army

Title: The Cobra Chronicles

Chapter Title: Dumbledore's Army

Author: Gold-Snitcher

Summary: A new year at Hogwarts has Harry facing more challenges than any year previously. As he works to control his own rising powers and also to teach his most trusted friends, Harry is also forced to deal with the various demands of his headmaster, not the least of which is to accept his most bitter rival as a new ally.

Pairings: Draco/Harry, Ron/Hermione  
Categories: Romance, Angst/Drama,

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Draco sat on his bed, twirling the coin Potter had given him between his fingers and thinking about the DA and Potter. He hadn't been certain of what to expect. From what he recalled of the DA when it had been running under Umbridge, it had been a very organized group. He wondered what spells they were covering.

And then there was Potter and that speech he had given his followers.

Things had changed, that was clear. Malfoy would hardly have been caught dead near the DA with any other intention than to destroy it before, but here he was.

And Potter. Everyone looked-up to him, more so than before. Draco tried to run-through any changes he had noted in the boy at the start of the year but found that nothing jumped to mind. He had been too preoccupied in his own drama to notice.

Draco huffed and stuffed the coin into his pocket before hopping off the bed, straightening his robes and heading out to his afternoon classes.

....................

Lunch in the Great Hall was always satisfying.

Harry was always too tired at breakfast to really care about anything except ingesting his meal quickly so that he could get to class, and dinner always seemed formal, since the teachers were always all there. But lunch was a time of quiet chatter, where the teachers kept themselves to themselves, barely glancing down at the tables before them.

But today, things just weren't going well.

He'd been expecting it, really. It was a well-known fact that Ron had a temper and it was a sign that he was beginning to process and adjust to a new situation when he threw a tantrum over it.

If there was one thing Harry was good at, it was reading people. And if there was one person who was easy to read, it was Ron Weasley.

So as soon as Dumbledore had sat him down and dropped the bomb on him that Malfoy had hopped across the line and was now insinuating himself into the DA, Harry suffered momentary shock and anger - and then he resigned himself to the fact. He was very good at stepping back from a problem and analyzing it from all angles. If there was one thing Sirius' death had done for him, it was to force him to be more calm and rational and it also ingrained in him the necessity of being able to see a problem from both sides.

He was becoming more Slytherin. But he'd be damned if he admitted it.

So, after leaving the Headmaster's office, Harry had begun to run-through the situation and its many possibilities. If he were honest with himself, he would admit that he was greatly relieved that Malfoy would be on his side. If there was one thing that Harry dreaded, it was the idea of facing a familiar face of a classmate on the battlefield, and Draco Malfoy was a powerful wizard. True, he was also a bastard, but if he had seen the light, which apparently he had, then perhaps his personality was subject to change. Harry seriously hoped that it was, because otherwise he fully intended to relegate Malfoy to a position of active inactivity within the DA. He had not figured-out how to do this, but knew that, if the situation arose, he would think of something. His friends came before the Headmaster and his many demands.

Moving on from Malfoy, Harry had carefully run-through each person in the DA and thought of their possible reactions. He had, of course, hoped that everyone's instinctual response would be somewhat like his: momentary anger, frustration and mild panic, and then slow resignation. That's all he asked for, really. Accept Malfoy and then let Malfoy prove that he was worth more than a tentative position on the outskirts of everyone's trust.

Ron was, of course, a problem.

Knowing his friend as he did, Harry knew that there would be an outburst. There had to be. A happy and healthy Ron required there to be an intense outburst in order to adjust to the idea of Malfoy now being an ally. Ron never reacted well to small bombs being lobbed at his head, and Harry had to admit this was a little more than a small bomb.

So Harry was planning for the eruption of Vesuvius, or a re-enactment of Hiroshima sometime after the meeting. He knew it wouldn't come during the meeting since Ron needed time to get-over his denial.

Ron was quite adept at denial.

So Harry had been waiting patiently to calm his temperamental friend. But the more days that passed, the more Harry was becoming just a tad nervous. So, sitting there in the Great Hall, Harry made sure that Ron was facing away from the Slytherin table, as this would lower the possible number of casualties in case he chose this moment to snap.

And, much to Harry's relief, he did.

"So, Malfoy. Interesting thing, really. That you knew and all." Ron said it casually, but everyone around him at the Gryffindor table knew better, and looked at Harry with panic and trepidation. Harry was the only one who could shut Ron up when he got into one of his moods. Hermione could keep a leash on her boyfriend, but more often than not, his temper tantrums irritated her to the extent that they usually ended up fighting with each other, which was really just relocating the anger and frustration.

Harry, who had been about to take a bite of chicken, lowered his fork and placed it on his plate with care. "Yes. But we're both more than aware that this isn't the place to be discussing this." True, everyone in close proximity to them at the Gryffindor table was a part of the DA, but if Harry knew anything it was that there was a cap on the amount of time Ron could keep his voice at a reasonable pitch.

Unlike Harry, who had a way of becoming increasingly calm the more angry he was, Ron preferred to scream and shout and throw things, as this was a wonderful way to purge himself and also served to validate his emotions.

"Oh, don't pull that, Harry! I think you've avoided this long enough!" Ron stood up quite swiftly and loomed over Harry from across the table, face already going red and fists clenching. "I can't believe you would do that to me! You betrayed me!"

Hermione was just about to leap into the fray when Harry waved a hand dismissively and muttered something under his breath. Much to everyone's amazement, Ron looked around, grinning jovially. "May we go to a classroom, then? I mean, it's more appropriate, wouldn't you say?" Ron asked rather cordially, smiling and looking at Harry in a rather unnervingly chipper way.

"Of course," Harry said, and stood-up.

"By the by, what was it exactly you did to me?" Ron asked as the two boys walked calmly out of the Great Hall.

"Cheering Charm."

"Smashing. Shall we be off then?"

"Of course."

Hermione watched them go and blinked.

Then she blinked again.

Sometimes, Harry caught her off guard.

....................

Hermione liked to think that she was very patient.

At the moment, she was having trouble convincing herself of that fact since she was having trouble focusing on her book.

Ron and Harry had disappeared at lunch and she had yet to see them. Knowing Ron as she did, she knew that his reaction to Malfoy's sudden infiltration of the DA would be quite intense. She really hoped that he hadn't killed Harry.

But then, that was something else she was thinking about.

Harry had changed immensely over the years that she had known him.

He was very charismatic, a natural leader; and yet, underlying all of that, there was his usual unsteady, uncertain, sweetly innocent self. As if one was just a shield protecting the other. He had realized that, if he were to survive Voldemort, he was going to need to toughen up.

So he did.

At times, Harry unsettled her, but most of the time she just felt extremely protective of him. He was like her brother, and she was would never let anything ever happen to family.

..................

Draco wondered if Harry had wanted him to ask Blaise to join or not. He figured, since the dark haired boy hadn't said anything, it meant not. But that didn't stop him from casting suspicious glances at Blaise throughout dinner. He also, for some strange reason, found that his eyes often drifted over to the Gryffindor table where they inevitably locked with a pair of brilliant green ones.

Draco still did not know what to make of Potter's reaction to his joining the DA. He had spent the weekend wondering how he should feel about the reaction Potter had and decided that the main feeling could be called 'surprisingly off-kilter'.

Draco had essentially made his decision in the summer after a long talk with his father startled him into an uncomfortable awareness of several things all at once.

He wondered how he could have been so blind.

He decided he didn't want to think about it.

It wasn't until October that he had actually stepped forward in any truly visible form. There had been subtle plans and ideas formulating in his head ever since his realization, but he knew that he was in a better position when he leapt across the line if he had his arms full of information. And for that, he had needed to get a little closer than he would have liked, but in the end it had gotten him what he had wanted: a place on the other side of the line.

He startled when a persistent heat began to warm a spot on his hip. Stuffing a hand in his pocket he quickly found the coin Harry had tossed him. He brought it out and scowled at it, seeing that it displayed a time, eight o'clock, and a place RR. Room of Requirement. He smirked. He'd been there before, in fifth year when he had happily seen to the destruction of this very group. He remembered how happy he was when he wrote back to his father, outlining everything he had done. How he had floated in euphoria for several hours when his father's letter returned with the statement 'You did well, son.' which may have not sounded like much, but when it came from Lucius Malfoy meant volumes.

Then he remembered the summer, and found himself idly flicking the coin between his fingers. He'd been an idiot, and Potter was right. He may have proved himself with the information, but that hardly meant anything. These people, his new allies, had once been old targets, and Draco had to show them that this was one of the many things that had changed about him.

It would be simple, really. Children were easily distracted with a good show. But he idly wondered if Potter would ever really trust him. Being who he was, and Potter being who he was, he wondered just how much of Gryffindor was in Potter, and if, this time, it would work in his favour, or as always, work against him.

Tucking the coin back into his pocket he glanced around and saw that several of the people he had seen on Friday were also reaching into their pockets. /Not bad, Potter, he thought to himself, as he walked out of the Great Hall.

He tried to distract himself with completing his Herbology assignment, but he hated Herbology and had settled for lying in bed, staring at the coin and thinking. Well, not really thinking, but being open to thought.

Draco had long-since learned that when he was really unbelievably frustrated or confused, he needed to just let all the thoughts flow through him and then get the hell on their way and stop bothering him.

That was where he was when he rolled over and looked at the clock broodingly. 7:45. It wouldn't do to be fashionably late. Not now anyway. But he couldn't stand to be early and look like an eager little child. So instead, he would arrive promptly and smirk and grit his teeth, and hopefully survive the ordeal.

........................

Harry still loved the feeling of going to DA meetings. Of leading DA meetings.

He loved setting his homework aside and standing-up, marching down the hallways knowing that now was the time for something really important. Something essential. Now was the time to acknowledge the world around you, forget your books, and get-down to realizing your task.

The DA had always been about education and practice, but it had started-out in defiance, and there was still a rush that went through him when he walked through the halls, heading to the room. Even now that it was officially sanctioned by Dumbledore, (even if it wasn't truly official, since the point was to remain secret) that didn't mean that Filch would smile and nod as he traipsed through the halls. Or that there wasn't still danger.

He stopped by the door to the Room of Requirement and tried to clear his head the way Dumbledore had showed him. He had to make certain that he was calm and collected. A leader, ranting and waving a wand about wasn't exactly inspiring, and Harry wanted to make sure that he never treated his followers the way Voldemort treated the Death Eaters.

Harry wasn't stupid. He had read Macchiavelli. He had even, he had to admit, seen the rationality in it, but that did not make it right. He was determined to lead the DA his own way, and yet, he was equally protective of them, and if anything or anyone threatened the group, he was completely prepared to deal with it. Also in his own way.

He opened the door to see everyone sitting on cushions and looking at him expectantly. Since there were several new members, making this the largest group he had ever instructed, Harry tried to look official, and he shut the door and paced quickly to the centre of the room.

He looked at the group. They squirmed under his gaze. Some stared back at him, others kept their gaze averted, and he wondered what the hell their problem was. Then he remembered. Boy Who Lived. Damn.

Realizing that he'd been pacing, he stopped abruptly and calmed himself. Motioning to Hermione, he took the parchment she hastily produced and, thinking for a moment, added one more small spell before turning back to face the group and setting the parchment on a small table. He also placed a quill and ink there as well. One could never be too thorough.

"Welcome to Dumbledore's Army. Since I know that the majority of you are new, I'm going to explain something to you. You may have heard rumours about us last year, but it's become a bit different now. This is not extra practice for your Defence Against the Dark Arts classes. Most of you will have realized that times have changed. The reason the DA was founded was because we were heading into dark times and we were heading there unprepared."

He stopped and looked at the students in front of him. All sixth or seventh years. All blinking at him widely. He wondered if perhaps he was being a bit heavy-handed, but if they could not take a speech that slapped them in the face with reality, then how the hell could they face what was going on out there? Because the whole point of the DA was to face it. They were the Order of the Phoenix' reserves. Harry knew that the Order would do everything in their power to not use them, but the point was, no one in the Order had immunity, and anything could happen. They needed all the help they could get. But it had to be serious.

"The Army's purpose is to train and develop strong defensive and offensive magic. Our purpose is to fight Voldemort and his allies and we will, at some point, be sent-out there to put our knowledge to work. If anyone here doesn't agree with any of this, or doesn't feel comfortable here, then this is the time to go." He looked around and was surprised by the looks on everyone's faces. Pure determination. Everyone in the DA had a fire lit under their arse and they were ready to stand-up and be counted.

Harry knew exactly how they felt. He was sick of being treated as a child as well.

He picked up the parchment with a small smile on his face. "Good. Each of you will sign your name to this parchment. It does have spells worked on it for secrecy." A hand rose. "Yes."

"Does it have the same spell as last year? To make sure no one has gone and talked about us?" It was a tentative question by one, Neville Longbottom.

"Yes, Neville. The DA is a completely secret group. No one can know about us. If you do spread the word, if you speak of it to anyone about it, I'll know." He was expecting them to shift in their seats. People last year had been hesitant with this knowledge, but everyone was still, and this made Harry happy. "Good. Then everyone please sign the parchment and we'll get to work."

They practised the simpler spells, since many of the members were new and needed to know these things. Near the end of the meeting, Harry outlined the Patronus charm and had them practice the movement and then adding the words a few times before dismissing everyone.

He stood at the front of the room, watching Ron and Hermione explain to Neville one of the latest spells they had heard of, and Neville excitedly suggested they should get to work on it. Out of the corner of his eye he spotted a familiar blond head making its way out. "Malfoy," he stated cooly, still watching his friends, and the blond turned and began walking back to him. "Why are you here?" he asked, before shifting his eyes to look closely at the blond.

It would be so easy, but he knew he shouldn't do it. Just to waltz into someone's mind didn't feel right to him, though it was oddly comforting to know the option was there. He instead promised himself that he would learn to read the boy, and was surprised to find that he very much already could.

"Because, Potter. I never bow. To anyone." And this was true. Harry had spent many a Potions class wondering how someone like Draco could ever contemplate becoming a Death Eater. Not because it was evil, because evil suited the blond like a glove, but because it required one to go limp in their Master's presence, and Draco didn't seem to have the patience or the inclination for that.

But the sneer, or the smirk which this statement once would have been accompanied by was not there. And because of this, Harry took a closer look at those grey eyes, and found that Draco Malfoy had finally had a wake-up call and the boy in front of him now was completely and totally out of his element.

Harry wondered what it would feel like to wake-up one day and realize that everything you had once believed to be true was complete bollocks. He remembered finding-out that he was a wizard, and that his parents had not died in a car-crash, but were murdered instead by a wizard who had also tried to kill Harry. And finding out that he was a hero, when all his life he had actually believed he was just a worthless little runt who had been shafted onto his last living relatives in all his worthless glory.

He watched the way the look of defiance settled into the place where the conceited smirk had been, and found that he liked it better. He found himself smiling despite himself.

Draco was looking at him with a curious expression, but Harry didn't care anymore. He realized in a single moment that this was his answer, right there in those grey eyes.

Defiance.

They had more in common than either of them cared to admit, and Harry realized that he trusted Draco. Not absolutely, but it was there.

.........................

How easy it was, he mused, to skip from worst enemies to allies.

"Harry," Harry was just leaving Transfigurations when a familiar voice calling him by his given name made him freeze in his tracks. He watched, somewhat dazed as Malfoy came up to him.

"Did I miss something? When did I reach the Twilight Zone?"

"The what?" Draco shook his head. "Never mind, listen, Harry."

"What happened to Potter?"

"Er, I wanted to talk to you about that. Don't you think that, for the sake of the DA, we might make an effort to get along? You are the figurehead of the bloody Order, they'll never trust me if we're still bickering in the hallways."

Harry looked closely at Draco and thought about it. He had, indeed, been thinking about a way to slowly get to know Malfoy and ascertain his trustworthiness. "What do you propose, Malfoy?"

"First," Draco said, with a small grin. He extended a hand and smiled, an expression Harry had never seen on his face before. "My name is Draco Malfoy, it's a pleasure to meet you. Please, call me Draco."

Harry eyed the hand critically then grinned. "I'm Harry Potter."

Draco nodded. "Harry, I couldn't help but notice in Transfigurations that you are quite adept." Harry flushed slightly. "I have a proposition for you."

Harry frowned and looked at Draco sceptically. "Explain."

"Well, I notice you have difficulties in Potions, a subject where I am quite gifted. I propose a trade-off, mutually beneficial. I help you in Potions, you work with me on Transfigurations."

"Having difficulties, Malfoy?" Harry asked with a quirked eyebrow.

Draco rolled his eyes. "It's Draco. And no, not difficulties per se. What do you think? Study nights, we'll work in the library."

"Aren't you supposed to be remaining the same as always? The Ice Prince of Slytherin and the Boy Who Lived studying together is going to draw a good deal of attention."

"I'll worry about that, Potter. Now tell me, yes or no?"

"... Yes."

"Fantastic. See you then. Tonight at seven should we say?" When Harry nodded Draco waved carelessly and sauntered off to his next class.

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TBC

Hey! Sorry! This fic is going to be worked on slowly. I know it's taken ages to update but I've been trying. Things have been really busy and, so far, I've only come-up with a long-term idea for it. I have a bunch of future scenes already written, right now, I'm trying to just get the lovely wizards of this world to the point where those scenes can occur and make sense. Have patience, and please, reviews really help me work faster. I think the pressure or knowing there are people patiently waiting helps. Double thanks to everyone who reviewed! You're all stars!

Thanks for everyone who has already reviewed! You rock!


	3. Studying the Golden Boy

**Title:** _The Cobra Chronicles_

**Chapter Title: **_Studying the Golden Boy_

**Summary: **A new year at Hogwarts has Harry facing more challenges than any year previously. As he works to control his own rising powers and also to teach his most trusted friends, Harry is also forced to deal with the various demands of his headmaster, not the least of which is to accept his most bitter rival as a new ally. **Pairings: **Draco/Harry Ron/Hermione

**Categories:** Romance, Angst/Drama, Action

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"You're late," Draco murmured coolly as Harry dropped his bag on the table and slid into a chair.

"I'm aware of that," Harry answered calmly and pulled out his potions text. "Either way, it couldn't be helped. Now, what are we starting with?"

Draco watched Harry sceptically. He wanted to ask what had detained him, but it was obvious Harry wasn't in a sharing mood. They had been studying together for over two weeks, and already Draco was painfully aware that Harry had a number of secrets and Draco was becoming steadily intrigued. "Potions," he replied, flipping open his text.

"After that debacle this morning, I think you need all the help you can get."

"It wasn't a debacle. There wasn't even an explosion. And it wasn't exactly my fault. I wasn't the one who added the shrivelfig. If you'd care to recall, you'd know that I was reading the directions when it happened."

"Whatever, Potter," Draco dismissed.

"What happened to Harry?" Harry teased, and Draco rolled his eyes before shoving his text under Harry's nose and tapping a page in the text.

"This is the potion you botched today," Draco said, smirking when Harry scowled at him. He began explaining the nature of the ingredients and why this particular combination interacted in a particular way to create a calming draught, which was what the potion was. Draco had found that Harry understood things better when he understood the 'why' behind it. Just being told to follow the instructions and being told the result ended with a very confused and frustrated Gryffindor.

"So," Harry said after they had been working for a while. "That would be why the shrivelfig reacted to make –"he gasped and Draco's head shot up looking closely at the dark haired boy.

Harry had turned quite pale and his eyes were glazed, his entire body had gone completely rigid, and then, suddenly, he gave a startled cry and a hand flew to his scar before his eyes rolled back and closed and he slid, bonelessly, to the ground.

Draco was panicking. "Harry?" he called softly, he was out of his chair in a moment and around the table. Draco tried shaking Harry gently and trying to call him back. "Harry?" he asked, a bit louder, still trying to keep quiet so as not to disturb Madam Pince.

"Draco? What's going on?" Draco, for the first time ever, was relieved to see Granger. She looked at him curiously and then, noticing Harry slumped on the floor, she rushed forward. "Harry! It's okay, Harry. Just breathe," she crooned, and Draco shuffled back and watched her gather the dark haired boy in her arms and began to rock slowly, whispering comforting words continuously. "Shh, it's okay. You're okay. Just breathe, Harry."

Draco wasn't sure how long it lasted, but it seemed to take forever. He could only watch as Harry was wracked by violent shivers and gasped for breath as if he were being choked. Finally, Harry went completely and limp and very still in Hermione's arms and she sighed and relaxed against a bookshelf, stroking the dark ebony locks and exhaling in relief.

"What the hell was that?" he asked.

"Voldemort," Hermione answered succinctly. "Come on, help me bring him back to Gryffindor," Hermione said, already shifting Harry into a position where she could carry him.

"Shouldn't we take him to the hospital wing?"

"No, we've tried that before. Madame Pomfrey doesn't have anything that can help, he just needs to rest. And seeing how Harry hates the hospital wing, he prefers to rest in Gryffindor. Now come on." She motioned him over and he smirked at her as she carefully began to readjust Harry into a better position to carry.

"I thought you were supposed to be the brains of the trio?" Draco asked as he pulled out his wand and cast a quick lightening spell on the ebony haired boy. "I'll take him, you just make sure nobody's going to see me parading through the halls like this," he ordered. He noted Granger's sceptical look, but when he answered it with a quirked eyebrow, her gaze shifted to Harry's comatose form and she nodded once, gesturing to a row of shelves.

"Just stay close and try not to make any jerky movement," she ordered. He didn't bother to nod, only cast a curious glance at Harry's lax features and followed Granger through the halls.

.................

"Ron!" Hermione called as she entered Gryffindor's common room, Draco still behind

her, cradling Harry in his arms. Loud footsteps, like an animal stampede, and Ron Weasley appeared at the foot of the stairs leading up to the boy's dorms. "He's had another vision," she said, and Ron nodded turning to face Draco and his face quickly changed from one of concern to one of startled anger.

"What the hell is he doing here? What did you do to him, Malfoy?"

"For Merlin's sake, Weasley, I didn't do anything to him, and I'd be more than happy to relinquish my load here," he gestured to Harry's still body. "If you would be so kind as to stop accusing me and take your friend."

"Stop it, both of you!" Hermione stated in exasperation. "We need to get Harry upstairs and into bed."

"Bugger," Ron said, muttering other curses under his breath, but he led Draco up the stairs. "The dorm's clear. And, even if it weren't, you'd find all the faces rather familiar," he explained. Draco made no response, but he stepped into the seventh year boy's dorm with more confidence in his step.

"Which is his?" he asked, speaking softly to match Ron's tones.

"The one by the window, over here," Ron said, stepping towards a bed and pulling back the sheets. They worked together to position Harry in a comfortably and then stood back, watching the boy's pale lax features.

"This happens a lot?" Draco asked, because Hermione and Ron had seemed to know only too well how to handle the situation.

Ron smoothed the blankets out around his friend and nodded. "Yeah. If it's not a vision, it's nightmares. The visions are the worst, though," he said offhandedly.

Draco nodded. While he and Weasley still argued and fought most of the time, Granger and Harry had been steadily forcing them to get used to the other. So, while Weasley's immediate reaction had been ingrained, an old habit, these civil exchanges were becoming more and more frequent.

"Is there anything else that can be done?" Draco asked.

"Not really. It's usually not good to leave him alone. If he has another nightmare or – if another vision happens – sometimes – sometimes it's hard to keep him..."

"Breathing?" Draco asked when Ron seemed to be having trouble.

"Well – yeah. But – more than that. It's just hard to keep him – _here_, you know?" Draco understood only too well. "You should go. I don't know when everyone else will start coming in." Draco nodded and, taking one more look at Harry, he backed out of the room and hurried out of Gyffindor tower.

...................

At breakfast the next day, Draco found himself glancing towards the doors of the Great Hall whenever they were opened. With an exasperated sigh, he caught himself and returned his focus to Blaise and Pansy, who were arguing about the herbology homework they had had.

The doors opened again and this time, Draco was satisfied to see that it was exactly who he had been searching for. Harry Potter, looking to all as if nothing had happened the night before, walked casually towards his spot at Gryffindor table, Ron and Hermione both flanking him. Draco wondered how often the visions came. He had thought that there might be some sign of last nights events in the boy's demeanour, perhaps a lingering paleness, or dark circles under his eyes or _something_, but there wasn't anything.

He watched the trio until they were comfortably seated and dishing out their breakfast onto their plates. The doors opened again and professor Snape swirled up to the head table and took his seat. Draco frowned, wondering what had been responsible for the professor's lateness. He cast a suspicious glance between Potter and Snape. Perhaps there was a different reason for the quick recovery. Either way, Draco decided to look into it.

......................

Draco sat at the usual table in the Library where he and Harry worked. As was becoming tradition, Harry was late. Draco wondered what the hell the Golden Boy did in his free time that made him constantly unable to arrive promptly to prearranged meetings. As it was, Draco was busying himself by re-reading the Transfiguration notes that Harry had given him.

The arrangement was really working out quite well. When he'd made the proposition, it had been because it was the only way he could show Harry that, not only could he be as mature as Harry had been with regards to his shift of allegiance, but also, that Draco, too, could be a leader. It had been only too clear that Harry was, sooner or later, going to bridge the gap between them and come up with something that would force them to adjust to each other. It was a smart thing to do. As leader of the DA, Harry seemed to lead by example, and that, if what Draco had witnessed was anything to go by, was working brilliantly. So if Harry was going to ask the DA to accept and trust Draco, then Harry had to show that he was making open attempts to do exactly that.

So Draco had taken it upon himself to make the first – or really, the second move. Draco still hated not being in a position of power, and he wanted to confront Harry on equal ground.

Yet never once in his scheme to bond over studying, did Draco take into account that Harry was a good teacher. Of course, there was the fact that he was teaching a group of students about DADA, but Draco had always assumed it had been because of his status as the Boy Who Lived, not because he was, not only skilled at Defence, but also skilled at _teaching_ Defence. And now Draco was benefiting in Transfigurations. It was brilliant and Draco was extraordinarily pleased.

"Draco?" a curious voice asked and Draco's head came up from where it had been buried in his notes and met Hermione Granger.

"Granger," he greeted, congratulating himself on sounding so civil.

"Er – are you here for studying?"

"Of course," he flashed her a dubious look and she licked her lips.

"Uhm – Harry won't be here – he's – er – not going to be here," she finished lamely. "Something came up. He couldn't make it."

"You're rambling," Draco informed her. "What happened?"

"Er – he had – a meeting – with Dumbledore," she said. It was completely obvious that she was making this up as she went along, and Draco found that he was extraordinarily curious.

"Alright, Granger," Draco said, trying to keep his anger at being kept out of the loop from showing in his voice.

---------------------

TBC

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Hi! Man, it's been bloody ages since I've updated this. Sorry about that. At this point, I don't think this fic will be updated quickly at all, I have a lot of other ideas that I wanted to get working on, and I was thinking of putting this one on hiatus. If you would rather I focus my attention here, please let me know through an email or a review. No flames, please. Same your energy for something better!! Thanks to everyone who has reviewed!

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Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.


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